You’ve worked hard to build your business. Now is not the time to let your guard up. You can ensure your hard work wasn’t in vain by consulting with a Houston corporate attorney to safeguard your business name and brand identity including its identifiable symbols.
The Brand Protection Your Business Needs
Your brand is a large part of your business identity. If another company is using your likeness in the form of a logo, slogan, name, or other identifying information, lean on our Houston corporate attorney for counsel.
Ideally, you’ll already have legal protection in place in the form of a brand or name trademark. Our attorneys will help you apply for such brand protection through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The bottom line is your company’s branding is a form of intellectual property that must be protected to ensure continued success.
The trademarking of your brand makes it easier for customers to identify your products and services. Even slight infringement through similar symbols, similar sounding words, or using the exact same symbol creates legal footing for a trademark infringement lawsuit. However, if you haven’t trademarked your company’s identifying symbols, it will be difficult to obtain financial compensation when others copy your company’s likeness.
Tools for Brand Protection
Aside from the legal tool of the trademark highlighted above, there are other ways to protect your brand from illegal use. Registering the domain name protects your company’s site from use by other parties.
Comprehensive domain name protection takes the form of alternate extension addresses such as .org, .biz, and .net. It is also wise to go as far as registering domain names with similar but slightly different spellings.
Taking Legal Action After Infringement
If your trademarked business name, logo, or other symbol is used by another company, meet with our Houston corporate attorneys to discuss your options. Those options may come in the form of a cease-and-desist letter on your behalf. However, if the illegal use of the name, logo, or other trademarked symbol continues, we may recommend that you hire a litigation attorney and take the matter to court in the form of an intellectual property infringement lawsuit.
A lawsuit will seek financial compensation for damages including the loss of revenue, lost customers, reputational damage, and more. Keep in mind, that it merely takes one false representation of your business or its symbols to ruin your reputation.
Customers who feel defrauded will take to the internet to post negative reviews. The slew of harsh reviews will dilute your brand, cause search engines to flag keywords related to your company, and diminish the impact of your search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. The end result is a loss of trust and a diminished reputation.
Learn More During a Consultation With Our Houston Corporate Attorneys
The legal team at Capstone Legal Strategies is here to help you protect your business. We’ll file trademarks and lawsuits on your behalf so you can center your focus on your value offering, innovation, and what matters most: the bottom line in the form of sales. Protecting your company and its symbols starts with a call to our office. Reach out to us today to schedule a consultation.